Lions, Stafford make extension official

Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford’s contract extension went from reported to actual on Wednesday morning when Stafford put his name on the dotted line of the new contract.

It was a lucrative signature for Stafford as the contract pays him $27.5 million as a signing bonus that’s part of $43 million in guaranteed money over the three years of the extension that, when combined with the two years left on his current deal, will keep him in Detroit through the 2017 season. Stafford met with reporters after signing and said that he thought the deal was a win for both sides.

Tim Twentyman of the team’s website reports that Stafford said he was glad to be able to help the team’s cap situation by signing the extension, saying that he “wanted to do what was right for the club.” The deal was also right for Stafford in terms of both the money he’ll earn through the life of the deal and the chance to sign another deal before his 30th birthday, something he admitted he was excited about on Wednesday. Lions president Tom Lewand said he appreciated Stafford’s efforts in getting the deal done.

With the contract out of the way, Stafford and the Lions are now free to work on improving the team’s 1-22 record in games started by Stafford against teams that finished the year with a winning record. If they can’t do that, there will likely be a new regime running the show in Detroit before Stafford’s next negotiation and things might not work out with so many smiles on both sides.

The Lions have a talented roster and their team is definitely going to win more than 4 games this year, there’s no doubt all 4 NFC north teams are all potential playoff teams and might be the best division in football, Can this season just start already?

DonRSD says:Jul 10, 2013 10:16 AM

This guy is MAYBE a top 12-15 QB.

He doesnt deserve the money he is getting paid.
Take Calvin away and you think he can make a WR better ala Brady, Manning(s), Rodgers?

Stafford is a good QB but man it has gotta be nice to throw to the best WR in the league…I wonder how Stafford would do without him…

bennyb82 says:Jul 10, 2013 10:20 AM

Stafford is a good QB but man it has gotta be nice to throw to the best WR in the league…I wonder how Stafford would do without him…

The Rev says:Jul 10, 2013 10:39 AM

Wow, must be nice to be rewarded so freakin’ handsomely, for doing so freakin’ little. What the heck, and he’s only won like what, 16 games total in his 4 years in the league? That’s bottom of the barrel stuff right there, and yet he gets piles of money thrust at him. No wonder Detroit is constantly a cellar-dweller.

Yup, because they have the best defense in the league, so it’s his fault. You’re clueless. He and Calvin together could put up 40 a game, doesn’t mean squat when your defense is giving up 50 a game. You’re idiocy is forcing me to defend the Lions, disgusting.

The Rev says:Jul 10, 2013 10:48 AM

Also, gotta pass Green Bay (not happening), and Chicago (doubtful), and now a surging Minnesota (possibly?), but chances are, you’re begging him to take all this money to finish 4th in your own division for quite a while looking forward. Good move GM. Always nice to know you have some doormats to count on.

This team still lacks depth and ownership. If Ilitch ran this team it could reach greatness. Watch Stafford play and see his weapons he had and blocking. This young man is a franchise qb and is proving it daily. This is his team and he has proven it this offseason by staying in Detroit and being an active leader in the locker/weight room.

johnnycash19 says:Jul 10, 2013 10:58 AM

The last time I saw this much Stafford hate was when Stafford said “I vow to play in more than 16 games this season” Everyone laughed then. Hes proved people wrong hefore, I think he can do it again

The Lions’ lack of defense or any semblance of a running game are what mostly contribute to the losses. They can’t stop anyone, nor can they play “keep away” offense. Both things that Stafford can’t control.

Hate all you want. Most Lions fans are happy with Stafford and his extension. We understand that the Lions’ continued failings are in SPITE of his play, and not because of it.

rricha70072k says:Jul 10, 2013 11:46 AM

All of the Stafford haters need to take a step back. The lions offense averaged 23.3pts per game and the Super Bowl Champions averaged 24.9. The defense and lack of turnovers were the reason behind most of their losses with a -16 takeaway stat and giving up over 27 points per game will give you a 4 win season. Also his contract was just a much about clearing cap space to try and retain SUH next year. In the long run this can prove to be a good deal for everyone.

grudenfan says:Jul 10, 2013 11:51 AM

Anyone saying this is a dumb move for Detroit needs to answer the question: how is Detroit going to get a better QB than Stafford? Make a list of all the QBs you think are better than him who would give them a better chance to win, and then ask yourself what Detroit would have to give up to acquire them and sign them long term.

lilpuppy says:Jul 10, 2013 11:51 AM

to all those saying without megatron he does nothing..subtract the yards he threw to megatron and he still threw more yards than cutler

So this deal works out to $75mil over the next 5 years. $15mil a year for a guy who topped 5000yds the last 2 seasons….nothing to complain about for either side on this deal.

prince5000 says:Jul 10, 2013 12:06 PM

smart move – schwartz is the problem.

broccolilava says:Jul 10, 2013 12:50 PM

Pretty good off-season for the Lions, so far. I can’t wait for real football to get here.

johnelwayishorsefaced says:Jul 10, 2013 1:02 PM

All of you who are saying that Stafford doesn’t deserve the money, that he doesn’t win enough games, that he wouldn’t be good without Megatron etc…are taking serious shortcuts to actual thinking. You have no idea what you’re saying. You’re trying to be cute or funny or something. It’s not working.
Here’s my solution: Quit running your mouths about it. Unless you’re a member of the Ford family you really don’t need to worry about it. They’re the ones who sign the paychecks. Not you. It’s not costing you a cent to sit there and be an internet tough guy about it and I think the Lions front office might be in a better position to evaluate Stafford’s worth than you are.
We were 0-16 a few seasons ago and Matt Stafford was a huge part of the reason that things got turned around and we finally made it to the playoffs two seasons ago. Yes he did regress a bit last year but that was mostly due to the fact that most of his offense, minus the o line, was injured for a large part of the season.
I haven’t heard a single Lions fan have anything but positive things to say about Stafford’s new contract. The rest of your opinions don’t mean much as they are rooted in hate and a complete misunderstanding of his importance to the organization.

hyzers says:Jul 10, 2013 1:15 PM

Dude threw for 10,000 yards the last 2 seasons and is younger than Kaepernick and people want to hate on him? And then point out the W-L record as if it’s his fault? When you have Green Bay fans defending him from the mindless haters you know he’s a good QB worth the extension he signed.

Flacco was drafted 18th overall by a team that was one season removed from going 13-3 with past his prime Steve McNair. He also has this guy named Ray Rice, maybe you’ve heard of him?

Ryan was drafted onto a team that signed Michael Turner who rushed for 1,700 yards in Ryan’s rookie season and had Roddy White who had 1,200 yards the previous season with Joey Harrington throwing to him.

Both of those teams also feature above average or downright dominant O-Lines and defenses.

Contrasts that with Stafford who has Megatron and… yeah. Since he was drafted they haven’t rushed for more than 1,650 yards as a TEAM. Yes Megatron is amazing but he’s also had his two best years in 2011 and 2012 when Stafford started all 16 games.

Throw in the fact that Stafford hasn’t had a Pro-Bowl OL, RB, TE, or even a league average defense and it’s no wonder the Lions aren’t winning. Last year he had injuries to Pettigrew, Scheffler, Burleson, Broyles, and then Young went off the deep end. But let’s heap the blame on the 25 year old QB.

butchhickory says:Jul 10, 2013 1:58 PM

Bob was sitting on the plane to Detroit when a guy took the seat beside him. The guy was an emotional wreck, pale, hands shaking, moaning in fear.

“What’s the matter?” Bob asked.

“I’ve been transferred to Detroit – there are crazy people there. They’ve got lots of shootings, gangs, race riots, drugs, poor public schools, and the highest crime rate in the nation.”

Bob replied, “I’ve lived in Detroit all my life. It’s not as bad as the media says. Find a nice home, go to work, mind your own business, and enroll your kids in a nice private school. It’s as safe a place as anywhere in the world.”

The guy relaxed and stopped shaking and said, “Oh, thank you. I’ve been worried to death. But if you live there and say it’s OK, I’ll take your word for it. What do you do for a living?”

And why do you think that is? Why is it every year that we struggle on defense. Is it the DC or the GMs fault? This is what I keep complaining about and I think it’s both. We do a bad job in managing our roster, and then we follow it up with a suspect scheme and coaching effort. Look at the tape, any tape, and you will see a breakdown in defense logic over and over and over again. You can’t win what you don’t know how to defend.

We need a better method for teaching these players how to play their positions, in addition to solidifying a mix of quality talent. We could have done this in any year in the past 10 years and we completely miss the boat on shoring up multiple elements of the coaching/management departments each and every year.

Are we going to figure out how to run a football team this year? I have my concerns that we still don’t know what we are doing at too many key areas. Same goes for ST, which is run just as poorly as our Defense is.

He doesnt deserve the money he is getting paid.
Take Calvin away and you think he can make a WR better ala Brady, Manning(s), Rodgers?

_________

Brady Manning and Rodgers?? Are you kidding me?

Brady had Randy Moss and Wes Welker.

Manning had Marvin Harrison and Reggie Wayne.

Rodgers had Greg Jennings, Donald Driver and Jordy Nelson.

If you were gonna try to use an example like this, you shoulda used Drew Brees.

Brees has NEVER had a Pro Bowl receiver…. EVER!!!!

But the man continues to DOMINATE the entire league YEAR IN AND YEAR OUT!!!!

Brees is posterboy for Quarterbacks. The rest cant even carry his jockstrap.

sergisbauer says:Jul 10, 2013 2:59 PM

rricha70072k says:Jul 10, 2013 11:46 AM

All of the Stafford haters need to take a step back. The lions offense averaged 23.3pts per game and the Super Bowl Champions averaged 24.9.
__________________________________

Does that stat control for garbage-time touchdowns that teams allow the Lions to score after they’ve walked all over the Lions’ D and already put the game in the bag?

Not saying the Lions offense isn’t deserving of better than a 4-win record, but statistics can often be extremely misleading, especially in a game like football. Your implication that the Lions’ offense isn’t far behind the 49ers is based on deeply flawed assumptions.

@sergi
The Lions didn’t have garbage time TDs. They were in almost every game, but Atlanta and Arizona. The ppg was actually disappointing. Many drives were stalled because the Lions couldn’t run the ball. This led to more field goals than 2011. Also, the defense didn’t score at all in 2012, and the punter and special teams returners were terrible.

bcar1023 says:Jul 11, 2013 8:21 PM

Any one bagging on Stafford for the 1 and 22 stat apparently doesn’t watch football. Go back and take a look at the total offense rankings of the Lions from the day he was drafted. Rookie Season and 2nd injury season = high 20’s. 2011 and 2012 = 5 and 3 respectively. Here’s a hint for those pinning it on CJ. Megatron was drafted in 2007. Why were there no 5000 yard passers then if it is all CJ81? You need to look no further than the horrible secondary and non-existent OL to determine the reason for 1-22 against winning teams. That D couldn’t stop Alabama for Rodney Petes Sake. LOL